Manes in the context of "Genius (mythology)"

Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the period in Christian history following the Apostolic Age (1st century AD) up to the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD). Although the use of the term Christian (Koine Greek: Χριστιανός) is attested in the Acts of the Apostles (80–90 AD), the earliest recorded use of the term Christianity (Koine Greek: Χριστιανισμός) is attested by the ante-Nicene Father and theologian Ignatius of Antioch (c. 107 AD).

While the Jewish–Christian community was centered in Jerusalem in the 1st century AD, Gentile Christianity spread widely in the 2nd century AD. One stream of Gentile Christianity (so-called "proto-Orthodox Christianity") that emerged in this period in the persons and theological positions of the Apostolic Fathers would eventually become the international Great Church. Proto-Orthodox Christianity placed importance on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as saving humanity, and described Jesus as the incarnated Son of God come to Earth. The 2nd and 3rd centuries AD saw a sharp separation between Jewish Christianity and Gentile Christianity, with the latter being derived from the teachings of the Apostle Paul. There was an explicit rejection of Second Temple Judaism and Jewish culture by the end of the 2nd century, with a growing body of anti-Jewish Christian literature. Many doctrinal variations in this era defy neat categorizations, as various forms of Christianity interacted in a complex fashion.

Februarius, fully Mensis Februarius ("month of Februa"), was the shortest month of the Roman calendar from which the Julian and Gregorian month of February derived. It was eventually placed second in order, preceded by Ianuarius ("month of Janus", January) and followed by Martius ("month of Mars", March). In the oldest Roman calendar, which the Romans believed to have been instituted by their legendary founder Romulus, March was the first month, and the calendar year had only ten months in all. Ianuarius and Februarius were supposed to have been added by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, originally at the end of the year. It is unclear when the Romans reset the course of the year so that January and February came first.

Februarius was the only month in the pre-Julian calendar to have an even number of days, numbering 28. This was mathematically necessary to permit the year itself to have an odd number of days. Ancient sources derived Februarius from februum, a thing used for ritual purification. Most of the observances in this month concerned the dead or closure, reflecting the month's original position at the end of the year. The Parentalia was a nine-day festival honoring the ancestors and propitiating the dead, while the Terminalia was a set of rituals pertaining to boundary stones that was probably also felt to reinforce the boundary of the year.

Manidae ("spirits") is the only extant family of pangolins. This family comprises three genera (Manis from subfamily Maninae, Phataginus from subfamily Phatagininae, and Smutsia from subfamily Smutsiinae), as well as the extinct Fayum pangolin.

Manis ("spirit") is a genus of South Asian and East Asian pangolins, the Asiatic pangolins, from subfamily Maninae, within family Manidae.

The di inferi or dii inferi (Latin, "the gods below") were a shadowy collective of ancient Roman deities associated with death and the underworld. The epithet inferi is also given to the mysterious Manes, a collective of ancestral spirits. The most likely origin of the word Manes is from manus or manis (more often in Latin as its antonym immanis), meaning "good" or "kindly," which was a euphemistic way to speak of the inferi so as to avert their potential to harm or cause fear.

Ferālia /fɪˈreɪliə/ was an ancient Roman public festival celebrating the Manes (Roman spirits of the dead, particularly the souls of deceased individuals) which fell on 21 February as recorded by Ovid in Book II of his Fasti. This day marked the end of Parentalia, a nine-day festival (13–21 February) honoring the dead ancestors.

Roman citizens were instructed to bring offerings to the tombs of their dead ancestors which consisted of at least "an arrangement of wreaths, a sprinkling of grain and a bit of salt, bread soaked in wine and violets scattered about." Additional offerings were permitted, however the dead were appeased with just the aforementioned. These simple offerings to the dead were perhaps introduced to Latium by Aeneas, who poured wine and scattered violet flowers on his father Anchises' tomb. Ovid tells of a time when Romans, in the midst of war, neglected Feralia, which prompted the spirits of the departed to rise from their graves in anger, howling and roaming the streets. After this event, tribute to the tombs were then made and the ghastly hauntings ceased. To indicate public mourning, marriages of any kind were prohibited on the Feralia, and Ovid urged mothers, brides, and widows to refrain from lighting their wedding torches. Magistrates stopped wearing their insignia and any worship of the gods was prohibited as it "should be hidden behind closed temple doors; no incense on the altar, no fire on the hearth."